While we always recommend using our Chat feature to communicate with your employees, we understand your company's need to send text messages. Sometimes, you want to reach employees off-shift with a solution that is not internet or app-dependent. In those situations, you can purchase text messages and send them.

In this article, we will go over:

Enter the text messages feature on the left sidebar and click on top up.

You will then be presented with a screen where you can buy a budget for text messages.

You can choose between a set amount of $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 or a custom amount. Note that all charges are in USD and the minimum purchase amount is $10.

Next to each amount, you'll find the estimated number of messages you will receive. Please note, that this is an estimate only, as the exact cost of each message is determined only after a message has been sent and can vary, depending on, among other things, the carrier, and country from/to which it has been sent. To provide a clearer picture, we base this estimation on the highest cost for a message in your country as of the date hereof. It is also important to note that these amounts do not include tax. You will see the tax on the summary page upon confirming your payment.

Once have made a selection, at the bottom, you will be able to see the new balance after purchasing a budget as well. Once you have made your selection press continue. Following this you will presented with a summary and be able ill click on Pay Now.

Note that If your billing information has not been added to your account yet (for example you are on the Small Business Plan or Trial) then you will need to add it before proceeding.

Once your purchase is complete you'll receive a summary table as seen below.

Due to security measures, companies who are new to the Text Message feature and wish to start using it by purchasing a budget will be instructed to contact our live support team beforehand. This can be done through the chat at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.

To view a history of your purchases navigate to the text message feature, and click on the budget left icon in the upper right-hand corner.

Here you can view all the purchase history for text messages, who purchased, the date and time, the source of the purchase (updates/job schedule or text messages), and the amount.

At the top, you can adjust the date range to see for a specific period. You also download an invoice for each purchase by clicking on the relevant invoice icon. Finally, if needed you can export all your purchase history for further reporting purposes by clicking on the export button.

Now that you have purchased tokens let's take a look at your invoice and understand what it includes. In the top half, you have an overview of who charged you and a summary of the purchase. On the left, you will see Connecteam (that's us) and the Billed To information This information should match the owner of the account whose information is set under the general setting billing information tab.

On the top right, you see the invoice summary which includes, the invoice number, the date, the invoice amount (in USD) the customer ID, and the word PAID. Below that you will see your subscription information with Connecteam - Your ID, Billing Period, and Next Billing Date.

In the bottom half, you have a breakdown of the exact purchase made. You can see the description in our case text messages, the units, in our case 500, the unit price, in our case $1, and the amount (in USD), in our case $500. Remember that the unit price does not equal the number of messages. The amount of texts per $1 varies between carriers and countries. The unit amount seen here is only an estimate.

Finally, you see the Sub Total, any Promotional Credits you may have had, the Total, the Payments, and lastly the Amount Due. Since this is a paid invoice it equals zero.

Need more guidance? 🙋 Our LIVE support team (at the bottom right corner of your screen) replies to ANY question.